It just so happens that I’m in LA, so I summoned the courage to sample the male equivalent treatment, called the A-Steam (yes, ‘A’ stands for a***).

The ‘benefits’ and an A-steam

The instructionsSource:Supplied

According to the spa, the benefits of an A-Steam include helping to fight infections, easing fatigue and headaches, and balancing your hormones.

I don’t have any infections in that particular area of my body, I didn’t have a headache and as far as I’m aware, my hormones are just fine … but I wanted to give it a crack anyway (pun fully intended).

Before the treatment you have to take all of your clothes off and pop on a black plastic garment, similar to a tarp, which you wear around your waist.

After a slightly humiliating walk through the lobby (I’m not in the best shape of my life OK), you enter the V-Steam and A-Steam room.

The throne roomSource:Supplied

Inside there are about five or six steaming thrones (with holes in the seat for the steam) and guess what, the room is unisex, which means you could possibly be sitting next to Gwyneth Paltrow as she’s steaming out all of her Goopy goodness.

Thankfully, I was alone.

To begin, you hoist yourself onto the throne, spread your legs a little bit, grab the remote control and set your desired heat level for both the steam and the infra-red (which is inside the hole in the throne).

The treatment goes for 30 minutes, so I grabbed one of the magazines on the table next to my throne.

It had the Kardashians on the front cover, which somehow felt appropriate given the treatment I was receiving.

The menuSource:Supplied

All the way up to 11

At first, I couldn’t really feel anything, so thinking that perhaps I might have an especially resilient bum, I cranked the heat level up.

About 10 minutes in I started to feel it.

It was as if I was sitting on a really warm leather car seat. There was a warm sensation but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

So I turned it up a little bit. And then a bit more, and within a few minutes, I really started to feel it.

It got hot, real hot. I had a light sweat going above my waist, but below felt like Niagara Falls.

I could feel the sweat rolling down my legs, as least I hoped that’s what it was … there was a part of me that thought it could just be my skin melting off.

The sensation had progressed from sitting on a leather car seat to sitting on top of an active volcano.

Things are getting very steamySource:Supplied

I clenched, trying to block the steam from getting inside me (that sounds a bit Fifty Shades of Grey-ish doesn’t it?) but with about five minutes to go, it became a little too uncomfortable so I grabbed the remote and turned the heat way down.

When my time was up, I gingerly stepped off the throne and walked back through the lobby to the change rooms, leaving a slight sweat trail along the way.

Did I feel like a new man after the treatment? No.

Did I feel like my hormones were more balanced? I’m not sure how to answer that.

Was it a fun experience? Definitely.

I’m fully aware that my endorsement doesn’t carry as much weight as Gwyneth’s, but if you’re in LA and you want to try something different, or you just want a great story to tell at a party, get your butt down to the Tikkun Holistic Spa.